gridtiming
Stock cars

1949 first season

NASCAR Cup Series

Stock cars on ovals, road courses and streets

Points races in 2026
36
Cars per race
Up to 40
Car makes
3
Races in the Chase
10

2026 seasonRound 38 of 38 next

The story

Stock cars on every surface

The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division. Its first race, at Charlotte Speedway on 19 June 1949, used ordinary showroom cars. Today's cars are built for racing, but they still carry the bodies of Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota road cars.

Most of the 36 points races are on ovals, from short tracks to Daytona and Talladega. A few are on road courses, and one is on a street course. Races are split into stages, and up to 40 cars start.

The machines

The carsUp to 40 cars

The Next Gen car has raced since 2022. It has a 358-cubic-inch V8, a five-speed sequential gearbox, 18-inch wheels with one centre nut and independent rear suspension. Power is about 670 hp at most tracks. Goodyear supplies the tyres. Bodies are styled after the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang and Toyota Camry.

On the grid

Who is on the grid

Car makes

  • Chevrolet
  • Ford
  • Toyota

Teams with Chevrolet

  • Haas Factory Team
  • Hendrick Motorsports
  • Hyak Motorsports
  • Kaulig Racing
  • Richard Childress Racing
  • Rick Ware Racing
  • Spire Motorsports
  • Trackhouse Racing

Teams with Ford

  • Front Row Motorsports
  • RFK Racing
  • Team Penske
  • Wood Brothers Racing

Teams with Toyota

  • 23XI Racing
  • Joe Gibbs Racing
  • Legacy Motor Club

Calendar

2026, round by round

Dates are race days where known, otherwise the event weekend. Times in the app are always in your own time zone.

  1. FEB4 The Clash at Bowman GrayWinston-Salem, USANon-points exhibition race. Not part of the 36-race championship. Done
  2. FEB15 Daytona International SpeedwayDaytona Beach, USADaytona 500. Season opener. Done
  3. FEB22 AtlantaHampton, USA Done
  4. MAR1 Circuit of the AmericasAustin, USARoad course. Done
  5. MAR8 Phoenix RacewayAvondale, USA Done
  6. MAR15 Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayLas Vegas, USA Done
  7. MAR22 Darlington RacewayDarlington, USA Done
  8. MAR29 Martinsville SpeedwayRidgeway, USA Done
  9. APR12 Bristol Motor SpeedwayBristol, USA Done
  10. APR19 Kansas SpeedwayKansas City, USA Done
  11. APR26 Talladega SuperspeedwayTalladega, USA Done
  12. MAY3 Texas Motor SpeedwayFort Worth, USA Done
  13. MAY10 Watkins Glen InternationalWatkins Glen, USARoad course. Done
  14. MAY17 NASCAR All-Star RaceDover, USANon-points exhibition race. Not part of the 36-race championship. Done
  15. MAY24 Charlotte Motor SpeedwayConcord, USA Done
  16. MAY31 Nashville SuperspeedwayLebanon, USA Done
  17. JUN7 Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn, USA Done
  18. JUN14 Pocono RacewayBlakeslee, USA Done
  19. JUN21 Naval Base CoronadoSan Diego, USAStreet course. New in 2026. Done
  20. JUN28 Sonoma RacewaySonoma, USARoad course. Done
  21. JUL5 Chicagoland SpeedwayJoliet, USA Done
  22. JUL12 AtlantaHampton, USA Done
  23. JUL19 North Wilkesboro SpeedwayNorth Wilkesboro, USA Done
  24. JUL26 Indianapolis Motor SpeedwaySpeedway, USABrickyard 400. Done
  25. AUG9 Iowa SpeedwayNewton, USA Done
  26. AUG15 Richmond RacewayRichmond, USASaturday race. Done
  27. AUG23 New Hampshire Motor SpeedwayLoudon, USA Done
  28. AUG29 Daytona International SpeedwayDaytona Beach, USASaturday race. Last race before the Chase. Done
  29. SEP6 Darlington RacewayDarlington, USASouthern 500. Chase race 1 of 10. Done
  30. SEP13 World Wide Technology RacewayMadison, USAChase race 2 of 10. Done
  31. SEP19 Bristol Motor SpeedwayBristol, USASaturday night race. Chase race 3 of 10. Done
  32. SEP27 Kansas SpeedwayKansas City, USAChase race 4 of 10. Done
  33. OCT4 Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayLas Vegas, USAChase race 5 of 10. Done
  34. OCT11 Charlotte Motor SpeedwayConcord, USAChase race 6 of 10. Done
  35. OCT18 Phoenix RacewayAvondale, USAChase race 7 of 10. Done
  36. OCT25 Talladega SuperspeedwayTalladega, USAChase race 8 of 10. Done
  37. NOV1 Martinsville SpeedwayRidgeway, USAChase race 9 of 10. Done
  38. NOV8 Homestead-Miami SpeedwayHomestead, USASeason finale. Chase race 10 of 10. Next

The first 26 points races are the regular season. The Chase is the last 10, from Darlington on 6 September to Homestead on 8 November. The Clash and the All-Star Race are listed as exhibitions: they do not count towards the championship.

Good to know

  • How the Chase works

    After 26 races, the top 16 in points enter a 10-race Chase. Points reset once. The most points after the final race wins the title. There are no eliminations.

  • Charters guarantee a start

    There are 36 charters. Each guarantees a car a place in every points race. Up to four open teams fill the rest of the 40-car field.

  • Stages add bonus points

    Each race is split into stages. After the first two stages, the top ten drivers earn bonus points. A race win is worth 55 points.

Next year

2027: 38 rounds

Calendar announced on 26 August 2026. It has 36 points races plus the Clash and the All-Star Race, which are non-points exhibitions. Richmond, Watkins Glen and New Hampshire open the Chase.

  1. FEB13 The ClashDaytona Beach, USANon-points exhibition race, at Daytona.
  2. FEB21 Daytona International SpeedwayDaytona Beach, USADaytona 500. Season opener.
  3. FEB28 AtlantaHampton, USA
  4. MAR7 Circuit of the AmericasAustin, USARoad course.
  5. MAR14 Phoenix RacewayAvondale, USA
  6. MAR21 Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayLas Vegas, USA
  7. APR4 Darlington RacewayDarlington, USA
  8. APR11 Bristol Motor SpeedwayBristol, USA
  9. APR18 Martinsville SpeedwayRidgeway, USA
  10. APR25 Talladega SuperspeedwayTalladega, USA
  11. MAY2 Texas Motor SpeedwayFort Worth, USA
  12. MAY9 Kansas SpeedwayKansas City, USA
  13. MAY16 Dover Motor SpeedwayDover, USA
  14. MAY23 NASCAR All-Star RaceNorth Wilkesboro, USANon-points exhibition race.
  15. MAY30 Charlotte Motor SpeedwayConcord, USA
  16. JUN6 Nashville SuperspeedwayLebanon, USA
  17. JUN13 Pocono RacewayBlakeslee, USA
  18. JUN20 Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn, USA
  19. JUN27 Chicagoland SpeedwayJoliet, USA
  20. JUL4 Iowa SpeedwayNewton, USA
  21. JUL11 Sonoma RacewaySonoma, USARoad course.
  22. JUL18 AtlantaHampton, USA
  23. JUL25 Indianapolis Motor SpeedwaySpeedway, USABrickyard 400.
  24. AUG1 Naval Base CoronadoSan Diego, USAStreet course.
  25. AUG14 Bristol Motor SpeedwayBristol, USASaturday night race.
  26. AUG22 World Wide Technology RacewayMadison, USA
  27. AUG28 Daytona International SpeedwayDaytona Beach, USASaturday race.
  28. SEP5 Darlington RacewayDarlington, USASouthern 500.
  29. SEP11 Richmond RacewayRichmond, USASaturday race. Opens the Chase.
  30. SEP19 Watkins Glen InternationalWatkins Glen, USARoad course. Chase race.
  31. SEP26 New Hampshire Motor SpeedwayLoudon, USAChase race.
  32. OCT3 Kansas SpeedwayKansas City, USAChase race.
  33. OCT10 Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayLas Vegas, USAChase race.
  34. OCT17 Charlotte Motor SpeedwayConcord, USAChase race.
  35. OCT24 Phoenix RacewayAvondale, USAChase race.
  36. OCT31 Talladega SuperspeedwayTalladega, USAChase race.
  37. NOV7 Martinsville SpeedwayRidgeway, USAChase race.
  38. NOV14 Homestead-Miami SpeedwayHomestead, USASeason finale. Chase race.

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